I wonder if that was the cry of James W Marshall on that interesting day in January 1848 when he accidentally hit an unusual rock while trying to build his sawmill. Historical account from "The Virtual Museum form the city of San Francisco" states, Mr. Marshall noted “This is a curious rock, I am afraid that it will give us trouble,” Was THAT ever an understatement!
The historical account goes on to say that the next morning there was heard - at an "unusually early hour" the pounding out at the mill...Mr. Marshall was intended on finding a gold mine this morning. But, as crazy as it sounds, it appears that Mr. Marshall wasn't very happy about his find - he was building an AGRICULTURE empire...that stinkin' gold would just get in the way of his plans.
It was Sam Brannan - a merchant (Innovator) who capitalized on the find and became the richest person in California! And, you know the interesting thing that I discovered???
Sam never mined for gold himself! However, there's good reason why this time in history is known as the "Great American Gold Rush." By mid 1849-conservatively only about a year and a half, the "easy gold" was gone, already mined by those "Early Adopters" who heard the opportunity and grabbed it. These Early Adopters are guided by respect, are opinion leaders and adopt new ideas early, but carefully.
Maybe you don't consider yourself an "Innovator" but may be teetering on the brink of an "Early Adopter." If you are a business owner or executive...a business leader today, I would encourage you that you could be. It 's clear to see that those who pursued their possibility of gold in California between 1848 & 1849 were taking a clear risk. Those on the east coast had to travel for months by ship around South America. Many were paying outrageous prices for a mining pan or even for a glass of water - $100 some note. But, they saw the reward for their risk. The risk was worth it to be rich!
I would invite you as a business leader to consider being a founder. Take the risk for the potential of great reward in your personal and professional life by being a part of a Truth@Work Roundtable. You are even a step ahead of the nearly 50,000 "49ers" who took their risky step for gold...Truth@Work has been offering PROVEN method for over a decade helping business owners and leaders grow their businesses based on Biblical principles. I invite you to be a 21st Century Business 49er!
More information:
Gold Rush: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/grush.html
Truth@Work Portal: http://www.TruthAtWork.org
Truth@Work in metro Louisville: http://www.InspiredToLead.com
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